Content Strategy for Professionals: Engaging Audiences

Content Strategy for Professionals: Engaging Audiences

Content Strategy for Professionals: Engaging Audiences

Northwestern University

About this course: In this course, professionals at all levels of an organization will learn the best ways to engage an audience they want and need by smartly implementing their important, strategic stories and information and by using proven tools and techniques to enhance an audience’s experiences and interest.
Content Strategy is a conversation that provides thought-leadership. It starts a “conversation” with users and stakeholders inside and outside an organization. Conversations are the natural way people think about complex issues. Conversations also enable people to develop “stories,” which lead to understanding and helpful mental pictures. Content Strategy practitioners are at all levels of the best enterprises – in all departments and sectors from the top leader to the newcomer in the ranks.
In this complex information age, forward-thinking employees know that if they and their organizations are to thrive, they need to go beyond their job descriptions. They must master the most demanding communications frontier – creating engaging, strategic, honest stories and information that is valued by their most important audiences. In turn that will make their enterprise stand out.
Regardless of their area of work, position or expertise, Content Strategy practitioners know how to use words, pictures, video, and social and mobile media to interact with their most important constituents with trustable, actionable information that the audience values and will use. The strategic content they produce enhances the user’s lives and deepens their understanding and engagement with the organization.
Guest lecturers in this course include:
-- Rachel Davis Mersey, Associate Professor, Medill, Northwestern
-- Ed Malthouse, Theodore R. and Annie Laurie Sills Professor of Integrated Marketing Communications, Medill, Northwestern
-- Bobby Calder, Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing & Director of the Center for Cultural Marketing, Kellogg, Northwestern
-- Steven Duke, Associate Professor, Medill, Northwestern
-- Janice Castro, Assistant Professor Emerita, Medill, Nothwestern

Module 1 sets the stage by defining Content Strategy and setting up the three truths that limit, in a profound way, every person you want to reach with your content.

5 videos, 6 readings

Video: Introduction from Professor Lee

Reading: What is Content Strategy?

Reading: Course Content and Schedule

Reading: How Do I Get The Most Out Of This Course?

Reading: Meet the Team

Video: What is Content Strategy?

Video: John's Three Truths

Video: It's Not Smart if It's Not Strategic

Video: Intro to Audience and Experiences

Discussion Prompt: Examples from You

Reading: Using Medill on Media Engagement

Reading: An Introduction

WEEK 2

Audiences and Brand

Module 2 emphasizes why understanding your audience and being able to effectively segment them is crucial to getting your message across. It also addresses how to craft a core creative concept for a content brand.

Module 3 is all about using content “experiences” to engage the people you want to reach and the fundamentals of creating an editorial voice.

8 videos, 4 readings

Video: What Are Experiences?

Video: Why Do Experiences Matter?

Video: Understanding the Experiences

Video: How Experiences Apply to Content

Discussion Prompt: Content Experiences

Video: Development of Tone and Voice

Video: Importance of a Unique Content Voice

Video: Best Practices for Professional Writing

Video: Using a Story Arc with Content

Discussion Prompt: An Engaging Content Voice

Reading: The Talk About and Share Experience

Reading: The Makes Me Smarter Experience

Reading: Join us for MOOC 2 - Managing Content!

Reading: Other Resources

FAQs

How It Works

Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

Help from Your Peers

Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material,
and get help mastering concepts.

Certificates

Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends,
colleagues, and employers.

Creators

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research and teaching university with campuses in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, and Doha, Qatar. Northwestern combines innovative teaching and pioneering research in a highly collaborative environment that transcends traditional academic boundaries.

Impressed session and the course contents are very resourceful and inspiring

John Lavine was interesting and a good speaker. Some of the other professors were not as engaging. I was distracted by the weird video editing that cut away at odd time. I felt the reading were very dated. However, I do feel I learned quite a lot.

Very well thought out and useful information delivered in an understandable way. The topics covered have already proved useful in my organizational development and employee engagement work.